International disputes: disputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works, bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; in 2008, ICJ awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh/Horsburgh Island) to Singapore, and Middle Rocks to Malaysia, but did not rule on maritime regimes, boundaries, or disposition of South Ledge; Indonesia and Singapore continue to work on finalization of their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Indonesia's Batam Island; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait.

Geography

The Republic of Singapore consists of the main island of Singapore, off
the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula between the South China Sea and
the Indian Ocean, and 58 nearby islands.

Government

Parliamentary republic.

History

Inhabitants of the Malaysian peninsula and the island of Singapore
first migrated to the area between 2500 and 1500
B.C. (see Malaysia). British and Dutch interest in the
region grew with the spice trade, and the trading post of Singapore was
founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles. It was made a separate Crown
colony of Britain in 1946, when the former colony of the Straits
Settlements was dissolved. The other two settlements on the
peninsula—Penang and Malacca—became part of the Union of Malaya, and the
small island of Labuan was transferred to North Borneo. The Cocos (or
Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island were transferred to Australia in
1955 and in 1958, respectively.

Singapore attained full internal self-government in 1959, and Lee Kwan
Yew, an economic visionary with an authoritarian streak, took the helm as
prime minister. On Sept. 16, 1963, Singapore joined Malaya, Sabah (North
Borneo), and Sarawak in the Federation of Malaysia. It withdrew from the
federation on Aug. 9, 1965, and a month later proclaimed itself a
republic.

Under Lee, Singapore developed into one of the cleanest, safest, and
most economically prosperous cities in Asia. However, Singapore's strict
rules of civil obedience also drew criticism from those who said the
nation's prosperity was achieved at the expense of individual
freedoms.

S. R. Nathan was declared president without an election when he was
certified as the only candidate eligible to run in 1999 elections. In Aug.
2004, Lee Hsien Loong became the country's third prime minister since
Singapore gained independence from Britain in 1965. Lee faced his first
electoral challenge in May 2006. His People's Action Party (PAP) won 82
out of 84 seats in parliamentary elections.

In Singapore's May 2011 general election, the ruling People's Action Party was reelected with a majority of 81 to 6, which was the equivalent of 60% of the vote. This percentage was viewed as promising by the opposition, as it was significantly less than in the two previous elections. After the elections, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong uncharacteristically acknowledged mistakes and pledged a more efficient government in the future.

Following on the heels of the general election, August's presidential election saw a field of four candidates from which the ruling party's Tony Tan emerged victorious. Though favored to win, Tan's triumph was not exactly a landslide—the 7,000 vote margin was the equivalent of 35.2% of the vote.

Singapore's Founding Father Dies

Lee Kwan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, died in March 2015 at age 91. Tens of thousands of mourners turned out to pay their respects. Many waited as long as eight hours to view his coffin. Lee is credited with creating one of the wealthiest, most educated, cleanest, and safest countries in Asia. However, critics said such benefits came at the expense of individual rights.